


She Runs Through my Veins

by Fanfictionisthegame



Series: Desires of the Heart [4]
Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Basketball Player Toni Shalifoe, Bottom Toni Shalifoe, College, Endgame Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Light Angst, Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe-centric, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-19 09:27:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29872572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfictionisthegame/pseuds/Fanfictionisthegame
Summary: Sophomore year at UCLA where more shenanigans ensue. Prepare for some angst, there are a couple of rough roads ahead!
Relationships: Fatin Jadmani & Leah Rilke, Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke, Shelby Goodkind & Toni Shalifoe, Shelby Goodkind/Toni Shalifoe
Series: Desires of the Heart [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2174613
Comments: 48
Kudos: 101





	1. Chapter 1

Summer is almost always too short. Toni was still riding the high that came from winning the National Championship game. She still had something to look forward to before the season started though because they were due to get their rings during halftime of the football game against Hawaii. Toni had never even seen a championship ring before let alone been the recipient. But during halftime, they were going to be introduced to the crowd and given their rings. Rings she knew Coach Close had in her office for days now. Jobeth had thankfully taken the awards Toni won so that they would be kept safe and displayed at her house instead of keeping them at a college house.

Jobeth had bought a shelving unit just for Toni and put them in the living room for everyone to see. Something that made Toni laugh, she’d never had someone so proud of her until she became a part of the Goodkind family. The entire family had gotten tickets to the football game just to see Toni get her ring. The way this family embraced her was never something she could get used to, but she was trying. She and Shelby had been engaged for four months now and Toni had never been happier to tell everyone her relationship status. She told everyone that she was engaged. 

Fatin kept fueling the people that supported their relationship. Because they lived together, Fatin decided that she would keep the “Shoni” fans happy and fed between seasons. She had also bullied Toni into getting social media accounts to connect with fans and build a relationship with them. Though Toni had gotten the accounts, it was Shelby who ran them. Toni couldn’t figure out how the stupid things were supposed to work. But she had made Shelby promise to post like it was actually Toni posting and not the way Shelby posted. Her original plan was to have Fatin run the accounts, but then Shelby had reminded her that Fatin would go overboard.

Something that was already true. Fatin had created a fan account for the “Shoni” fandom and was posting candid pictures of Shelby and Toni for people to enjoy. Thankfully, Fatin had discretion, she wasn’t posting anything that would call for Toni to kill her, just cute little moments. Toni had wanted to kill her in general for even making the account, but Shelby had pointed out that now they had pictures like this to hold on to forever and her stance had softened. She even allowed Shelby to make one of them her profile pictures.

“Toni! My favorite half of ‘Shoni’!” Fatin yelled when she saw Toni.

“Fatin, lying to me will not keep me from killing you, you know that right?” Toni answered.

“It’s not a lie. You hardly qualify as a whole person, you’re so small.” Fatin teases.

“Right… I see you’ve been hard at work posting pictures again.” Toni answers, annoyance in her voice.

“Obviously. We need to take a group picture before we go to the game, the people want to see it. I also want to take one of you, Shelbs, and Momma Goodkind after you get your ring.” Fatin dictates.

“You know, you’re really good at this, have you ever thought of becoming a publicist?” Toni asks, grabbing an apple from the fridge.

“Duh, who do you think I’m practicing for? I plan on being yours, dummy. You know, Leah just made her declared major sports management.” Fatin said, dropping the most obvious of hints.

“Please dude, you don’t think she hasn’t told me? I’m the one who told her to go for it and that she would have at least one client. When I’m allowed to hire a manager that is.” Toni said with a laugh.

“Wait, she told you first? What the fuck? Leah!” Fatin yelled through the house.

Leah came walking down the stairs and made a face when she saw that Fatin and Toni were standing together.

“Really? You told her?” Leah asked.

“She was trying to hint to me that I should hire you after graduation to be my manager. I just wanted her to know that I already planned on it. That is, unless you fail out.” Toni says with a laugh.

“Shut up, I’m not failing out.” Leah said with a laugh.

“She better not, we’re going to be the power couple behind your power couple.” Fatin said, putting an arm around Leah.

Toni just laughed. She told the girls that they needed to get ready for the game and to wear their UCLA National Championship shirts or they were disowned and sleeping outside. She ran up the stairs to find Shelby pulling said shirt over her head.

“Damn, Goodkind, looking good.” Toni said with a smile.

“Keep it in your pants, I have a fiance é .” Shelby said, rolling her eyes and pulling her shirt down completely.

“I think you could make an exception. I mean, come on, I  _ did _ just win a National Championship four months ago. That’s gotta have some sway for you.” Toni said, wrapping her arms around Shelby.

“I don’t know. My girl can fight, she wouldn’t like you touchin’ me like this.” Shelby joked and Toni leaned up to kiss her.

“I bet she really wouldn’t like that one.” Toni said, scrunching her nose.

“You know, we need to talk about rings for you.” Shelby said in a serious voice.

“What do you mean?” Toni asked.

“Like, what style you like, do you want just a band, do you want a diamond, stuff like that.” Shelby listed.

“Right, uh, I’m cool with either, really. Like for games? I’d probably like to wear one of those silicone rings? That way I can like still wear one. But otherwise, I wouldn’t mind having a regular engagement ring.” Toni answers.

“Okay, but you know there are different diamond cuts as well as setting styles right?” Shelby asks and Toni’s mind is swirling.

“Uhhhh you know what, tell Fatin to put together the different styles and run them by me to see what I think. She’ll also be honest and tell me if I would look ridiculous with a certain type. It’s really a win win.” Toni says.

“Okay, now let’s go meet up with momma and the twins and get you that ring.” Shelby said, planting a kiss on Toni’s cheek.

All of the girls take off to go to the stadium. Toni didn’t love football, but Dot definitely did. She was constantly trying to get the girls to go to the football games, and now that Dot officially went to school at UCLA, she was pushing even harder this year. She had warned them that they would be going to big games with her, something Toni agreed to do so Dot didn’t have to go alone. Jobeth and the twins were standing outside the stadium waiting for them when they got there. 

“Toni!” Both twins yelled and ran at her.

“You know, you do have a biological sister here.” Shelby said.

“Shelbs, it’s not about you today.” Trevor says before he hugs Shelby.

“Hey, guys, you should still be excited to see your sister. You know, without her, you wouldn’t have me.” Toni says.

“Shelby! Thanks so much for dating Toni!” Kennedy says in excitement.

“Not what I meant, but good try.” Toni said with a laugh.

Jobeth hugged the both of them and ushered everyone into the stadium. The game dragged on for Toni, she wasn’t really paying attention if she was being honest. She was curled into Shelby’s side and enjoying her reactions. Toni knew Shelby enjoyed football, when they were little, she used to say she would marry Tony Romo. Toni didn’t know a lot about football but she did know that Tony’s nickname was “no go Romo” because he could never get Dallas to the Super Bowl.

Toni got the text saying that they needed to meet down in the tunnel to get ready for the ring ceremony. She let Shelby know where she was going and made her way down to meet up with the team. Ten minutes later, they were at the fifty-yard line in front of the entire stadium. Toni did her best to try and find all ten people there to see her, but in the sea of people, it was almost impossible. The announcer introduced each player, Toni knew she would be last because she earned the most outstanding player in the tournament.

“Your team leader, the most impressive freshman this school had last year and hopefully one of the most impressive sophomores this year, the most outstanding player of the National Championship tournament, from Dallas, Texas, number three, Toni Shalifoe!” The announcer boomed through the stadium.

Just like during the National Championship game, the stadium had erupted into cheers for her. Toni just smiled and waved as she walked over to accept her ring. The first thing she noticed was how blinged-out it was. There were so many diamonds and it was  _ huge _ . This was definitely something that was going to be sent home with Jobeth, to be kept safe. Toni knew that she was supposed to make a speech after Coach Close and her nerves were starting to build. She could play in front of this many people, but talking in front of them is something else entirely.

Thankfully, Coach Close drug on and on, as only she could. She spent time talking about each player, making sure to leave Toni for last so that she could set her up to make her speech. Toni hadn’t told anyone that she would be making a speech, she wanted to surprise them. In her head, she kept going over everything she wanted to say until Coach Close finished up and introduced her.

“Right, thanks, Coach. So uh, I suppose if you’re someone who came here with me today, you’re probably confused as to why I’m talking. Surprise guys, I’m making a speech. Coach Close asked me if I would say a few words about this team, our fight to get this National Championship, our goals for this year, and my plans. I should probably start with my plans, that way you guys don’t get too worried. As a lot of you know, I’ve been doing some training with the US Olympic team. They approached me after we won the title and asked me to be on the team and of course I jumped at the opportunity. This upcoming summer I will be competing in France for the US Olympic team. Hopefully, I’ll be fortunate enough to play when it’s held here in Los Angeles. But the bigger question is if I’ll leave school early and to that, I will inform you that I have no plans of leaving early. As everyone with a Twitter account or who watches ESPN knows, my fiance é , Shelby, also goes to school here.” Toni says before pausing, knowing the fans adored Shelby and would probably be cheering.

She was right. The crowd went crazy at the mention of Shelby. The person running the big ass TV played a fancam that Toni recognized and she laughed. Fatin had made that one. She took every kiss before a game that they had and had them all lead up to the proposal. Even Toni had to admit that it was a good one. She let the video finish before she continued.

“Right, that’s her. We’re the same age, and I don’t plan on ditching her anytime soon, so I intend on finishing my four years here. Now, last season was tough. Our team was mostly freshmen, we didn’t have a lot of experience and there weren’t too many veteran players for us to look to. It was supposed to be a rebuilding year for UCLA but this is Los Angeles. Maybe Rome wasn’t built in a day, but things around here sure seem to get built that quickly. And that’s the exact mentality we went into the year with. It was an unusual year, being that we weren’t in dorms, usually, you’re in the dorms and you’re building friendships with your teammates because you’re rooming with them. Coach Close instead suggested that we run our own practices as a way to get to know each other and the way we play. As soon as she mentioned that, I was all in. I reached out to everyone to make sure we could get to know each other and learn about our opponents. Let me tell you guys, we were watching game film and running plays that UCLA is known for before classes even started. That is how committed we were to winning and doing well for this great school and all of you.” Toni says, before stopping again, knowing there would be more cheers.

Toni just smiles as even her teammates are getting excited.

“Exactly, exactly, we love you guys. As for this year? We have the same team as we did last year and we want to prove that our dominance last year wasn’t a fluke. We are just as hungry as we were last year. Maybe even more so, have you guys  _ seen _ these rings? Sheesh. But this team, let me tell you about this team. I was a freshman last year. There were some sophomores on the team and even fewer juniors and seniors. I expected to be told who was going to be in charge and to just follow in line, but that’s not what happened. After a couple of our practices the few veteran players we had, got us all together and expressed that they thought I would be a good fit for captain. That was truly one of the greatest honors, let me tell you. I still don’t think I deserved it. But they trusted me to lead them. This team is not just me. I know that I’m the person the media focuses on but we have so many amazing players coming together to make a team that just gets it. Okay, just one last thank you to Coach Close who gave me the opportunity to be a Bruin and to start as a freshman. We can’t wait to get out there and defend our National Title for you guys!” Toni ends her speech and the stadium goes nuts again.

The team swarms around her to tell her how well she did and Coach Close just smiled at her. Toni hadn’t really realized it, but last year, leading a team, made her grow up. It was hard to explain it, but being the leader of the team gave her a greater feeling of responsibility as well as more pressure to lead well and give them a good example to follow.

Halftime ends and Toni goes back up to her seat but stops when she sees Shelby at the concession stands. Another reason Toni hated going to games, she might look gay, but Shelby, unfortunately, looked like she stepped right off the straight girl express. Toni loved the way she looked, she just hated that other people, mainly men, also loved it. Toni just sighed and got closer to where Shelby was, that way she could hear if she may need help or not.

“Come on, just give me a chance. I’m on the track and field team, an Olympian in a few years, what have you got to lose?” This dude was seriously close to Shelby and Toni was beyond angry.

“Probably my fiance é.” Shelby said with a cold laugh.

“Well, I don’t see him anywhere, do you?” The guy said, leaning in closer to Shelby.

“Nope, I don’t see  _ him _ because it’s not a him. Where were you all of halftime? Did you not see the basketball team presentation?” Shelby asks.

“No? Why would I?” The guy says, looking confused.

“Well, if you’d have seen it, you would know that Shelby here is _my_ fianceé and that everyone in this country knows that.” Toni says, anger in her voice.

“Please,  _ this _ is supposed to be your  fiance é? I’m supposed to really believe you’re gay?” This guy was really starting to get under Toni’s skin.

“Why don’t you look up ‘Shoni’ on Twitter and get back to your pathetic, single boy, life. If you’d like to  _ keep _ trying to disrespect my  fiance é and our engagement, I would happily kick the shit out of you for hitting on her. But a word of advice? You don’t want to take that route because I promise you, you’ll just be embarrassed.” Toni says and the guy just scoffs and holds his hands up before walking away.

“You know, your timing is impeccable, Ms. Shalifoe.” Shelby said, kissing Toni.

“Thank you, I do try my best.” Toni answers with a laugh.

“So, you never told me you were doing a speech…” Shelby says, looking at Toni in curiosity.

“Yup, I uh, I wanted to surprise everyone. The only people that knew were me and Coach Close.” Toni said softly.

“Well, I think you did amazing. And so did all the girls. Even momma thought you gave a good speech.” Shelby answered with a smile.

The rest of the game goes on and UCLA manages to win, not that Toni actually knew because she was, yet again, not paying attention to it. But judging by the reaction of the people around her, they had won. Toni was just ready to go out to dinner with her chosen family and finally get to celebrate the National Championship win over the ring she’d gotten.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the chapter note please, do NOT skip over it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys... I just wanted to add a trigger warning at the very beginning of this chapter. It's going to have an eating disorder in it, so if that kind of thing is triggering to you, please skip over this chapter. I don't want you to harm your mental health. I promise I'll summarize what happened in this chapter at the start of the next one, just without potentially triggering language. At least I hope without it. The story is about to get a little dark and twisty for this chapter and the next but trust me to guide these two through to the happy ending everyone wants.

That Saturday was amazing and more than Toni ever could’ve imagined. Today though, she was waking up to the news that Dave Goodkind was trying to sue her for defamation of character. She really didn’t understand what he was using as evidence when his arrest was what dropped his popularity with a lot of people. But he thought he had a valid lawsuit and Toni contacted her lawyer immediately to ask if they could counter sue. As soon as her lawyer said that counter suing would be the best way to go about things, Toni gave her the thumbs up to move forward with it.

Toni had just declared her major as sports psychology and now she was going to have to deal with Dave Goodkind, yet again. On top of having basketball. Toni knew she had to let Shelby know what was going on, but Shelby was in class until later that night and then Toni would have to go to practice.

Practice was horrible. Toni couldn’t make a single shot and her head wasn’t in it. Coach Close called her out on it multiple times before just sidelining her. Toni was frustrated and she wanted to scream. Of course, this would be following her to practice. Fucking Dave Goodkind. Coach Close told her to come to practice with a better attitude tomorrow and she really hoped that she could tell Shelby and have it work in her favor. Toni rushed home so she could talk to Shelby and tell her that her father, Satan himself, was trying to sue her when he was the one to punch her. As soon as she saw Shelby, she dragged her with her to their room.

“Toni, what is going on?” Shelby asked a look of confusion.

“Your dad… My lawyer called me this morning and said your dad is suing me for defamation of character. Because when he got arrested, his church started losing people and so did his gym.” Toni explained.

“Why can’t he just disappear…” Shelby said quietly.

“Baby, don’t worry about it, it’ll be okay.” Toni reassured her.

“I’m so sorry you have to deal with him because of me.” Shelby whispered.

“Hey, no, it’s because of  _ him _ .” Toni said.

Shelby was looking at her with concern, knowing that something like this could distract her from classes and from basketball. Toni looks back and does her best to reassure her without words. She was willing Shelby to believe her because she needed to know it wasn’t her fault and that she doesn’t regret anything.

“How was practice?” Shelby asked, trying to change the subject and Toni groaned.

“Well, I found out about your dad while you were already in class, so I wasn’t able to tell you and that spilled into practice… Coach even sidelined me for the second half…” Toni mumbled.

“Baby… You could’ve come to the school and told me. I would’ve left class to talk to you…” Shelby says.

Toni knows that Shelby would have done that, but she never wanted to put herself over Shelby’s education. Toni spends the rest of her night doing homework and relaxing with Shelby. Toni was so busy she forgot to eat that night. She remembered as she was falling asleep and told herself she would eat in the morning.

Though, when morning came, Toni had to get to class almost immediately. She was in class all day until she had practice and then she had to have a zoom call with her lawyer about the lawsuit and see where things were in regards to that. After that, Toni had to get her homework done and went yet another day without food. It was never that she was intentionally not eating, she would just forget until it was far too late in the night, and vow to eat in the morning before her responsibilities get in the way, yet again.

——————————————————————————————

Shelby had noticed that something was up with Toni, she couldn’t figure out what it was though. She seemed to be more tired and it was like whatever light was in her, was fading. Shelby thought that maybe she was just feeling a little run down now that she was taking more challenging courses and balancing that with basketball, home, and the lawsuit. Shelby was actually hesitant to ask Toni if anything was wrong because she felt like it was her dad that was causing the issues with Toni’s behavior.

Shelby makes a mental note to keep track of Toni’s mood throughout the week. While she was doing that, she noticed that Toni was more irritable with some of the girls. She was quick to anger, even with Shelby, but it was always quickly corrected when directed to Shelby. It was confusing Shelby. She had no idea what was going on and she decided to see if Fatin had any idea.

“Fatin… Have you noticed anything off about Toni...?” Shelby asked quietly.

“Yeah, the grumpy little thing seems more easy to piss off lately.” Fatin answers.

“She blew up on me yesterday for asking her a question because she ‘didn’t have the time’.” Leah says quietly.

“Do you know what’s up with her? Do you think it’s the situation with your dad?” Fatin asks.

“It might be, but she hasn’t talked to me about it…” Shelby says.

“It’ll be okay Shelbs, she’ll talk to us when she’s ready to. She’s probably still trying to process her feelings and that’s why she’s like this.” Fatin says, trying to reassure her.

“Will you guys let me know if she says anything to you?” Shelby asks.

“Of course we will. Fatin I don’t care if she swears you to best friend secrecy. That doesn’t apply to me or Shelby. Understood?” Leah says and Fatin just nods.

Shelby decides to stay in Fatin and Leah’s room, knowing Toni would be at practice for a couple more hours anyways. The three of them started watching MasterChef JR and Shelby can feel herself starting to relax. Until her phone started ringing with a call from the school. It confused her, because she didn’t know any reason the school would be calling her so she let it go to voicemail. They didn’t leave a message so she figured that it was an accident or not that important. That was until she got the call again.

“Dude, answer it. It’s gotta be something if they’re calling you twice.” Fatin tells her and Shelby answers the phone and puts it on speaker.

“Hello?” Shelby asks slowly.

“Oh thank god. Shelby. It’s Coach Close. Listen, I need you to come to the school right now, Toni passed out in practice. She’s responsive, but we had to call an ambulance to take her in and we all know she won’t go with the paramedics if you’re not here. We don’t know why it happened, we just know that it happened. How fast can you get here?” Coach Close asked and Shelby’s mind is racing and she doesn’t answer.

“Shelby? Are you there? I need you to tell me you’re coming.” Coach Close tries again and Shelby hears her, she just can’t answer.

“Shelb!” Leah tries but nothing.

“Coach Close, this is one of Toni’s roommates, Fatin, I’ll make sure Shelby gets there. I think she’s in a little shock right now. We’ll be there in five minutes tops.” Fatin says and hangs up the phone.

“Shelb?” Leah tries again and Shelby can hear her but again, she’s petrified.

“Okay, babe, try to lead her to the car. I have her phone in case we get another call. I don’t think she’s going to snap out of it until she can see proof that Toni’s okay.” Fatin says and Shelby can feel Leah gently maneuvering her.

“Shelbs, sweetie, she’s okay. But we have to beat the ambulance.” Leah said, guiding her to the door.

“Babe! I grabbed her a pair of Toni’s slides so don’t worry about shoes!” Fatin calls.

Shelby’s legs somehow start working on their own, finally catching up with the information Coach Close had told her, and she runs to the car. She knows the look in her eyes is intense, she feels like crying, so when she slips into the front seat and Fatin looks at her, she tries to tell her she’s there, she just can’t talk. She knows Fatin can see the fear in her eyes and as soon as Leah gets in the car and closes her door, Fatin takes off. Leah hands Shelby the slides and she puts them on so she can run into the gym.

Thankfully, Katie was waiting outside for Shelby and led her to where Toni was. Shelby knew that Fatin and Leah were following her but she didn’t care, she needed to see Toni. They rounded a corner and there Toni was, sitting in a chair, drinking water with Coach Close nearby. 

“Thank fuck you’re alive.” Fatin said upon seeing Toni.

“Shelbs.” Toni croaks out and that’s all it took for the floodgates to break open in Shelby.

Shelby can’t hold it in anymore and lets out sob after sob. A mixture of fear and relief washing over her.

“Toni! Sit down!” Shelby hears Coach Close yell.

But seconds later she can feel Toni wrapped around her, holding her close to her. She’s smoothing her hair telling her over and over again that she’s okay. Something Shelby doesn’t believe.

“Shalifoe! Sit your ass back down!” Coach Close booms and makes both girls jump.

Toni goes to sit down, but keeps her hand locked with Shelby’s as she does.

“Toni, what the fuck happened?” Fatin asks her.

“Yeah, we would like to know that too.” Coach Close said.

“I was just running and then all of a sudden my vision started going black. But it kept going in and out, I thought maybe I needed water, but that didn’t help. It kept going in and out until it was just completely black. Then I was looking up at the girls when the lights came back on.” Toni explained.

“When’s the last time you ate?” Coach Close asked.

“Uhhh I don’t remember.” Toni answered and suddenly everything started to click in Shelby’s mind.

“Coach? I think I know what happened.” Shelby said, surprising everyone by talking.

“Please, tell me why my star athlete just passed out in practice.” Coach Close said.

“Toni, have you eaten this week? Since you got the phone call?” Shelby asks her and Toni stays quiet.

“Jesus Christ. At least tell me it wasn’t intentional.” Fatin demands.

“I swear it wasn’t. I just had so much anxiety from the phone call so I didn’t eat on Monday and then I was spread so thin with meetings and school and practice and homework that I kept forgetting until I was just about to fall asleep.” Toni explained and Shelby felt the blood leave her face at the confirmation.

“You’re so fucking stupid. You’re a fucking  _ athlete _ ! Don’t even try to tell me you don’t know how important it is to eat! You’re not even that fucking big to begin with!” Fatin yells, Leah trying to calm her down.

“Fatin, I wasn’t trying-” Toni starts before Fatin cuts her off.

“No! Toni, I don’t want to hear it. Do you have  _ any _ fucking clue how scared we  _ all _ were tonight?! Shelby basically shut down and we had to  _ physically _ move her. She couldn’t even answer your coach, that’s how fucking scared you had her. I know the shit you’re going through is a lot. I get it. But you know better than any of us that you need to take care of your fucking body. I swear to Jesus Christ himself, Toni, if you do something like this again, I am going to drag you behind my car going top speed. Do fucking better. You have a family, both here with the team and at home.  _ Lean _ on us, God damn it! Do you understand me?” Fatin asks, rage in her words and behind her eyes.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t even realize it had been that long… I just kept telling myself I would eat in the morning and then I would wake up to a million things to do and then I’d forget about food… I’ll do better, I promise.” Toni says weakly.

“Coach, does she have to go in the ambulance?” Fatin asks.

“I want them to make sure she’s stable enough to go home and then I want you guys to promise me that she’ll eat when she gets there. And you, Toni, your friend here said most of what I would have said, so I won’t repeat it, but you will be taking the next week off from practice to recover from this and get on a healthy eating schedule again. It’s non-negotiable. I’m not risking your life or career here.” Coach Close said and Shelby watched Toni nod.

Toni gets checked over by the paramedics and is cleared to go home. Fatin practically drags her by her hair to get her home. Once they get home, Leah launches into cooking and baking and Fatin starts yelling again, and Shelby can only sit there.

“Toni, I swear to God, what were you thinking?” Fatin asks.   
“Clearly I fucking wasn’t, okay, Fatin? You can stop yelling at me. I get it. I fucked up. But I didn’t mean to!” Toni answered.

“Are you sure you get it? Because I need you to take a nice long look at Shelby for me. You didn’t just fuck up you, okay? You fucked up and we  _ all _ felt it. Just be happy the other girls are out and they don’t know what happened. Fuck, I have half a mind to call Momma Goodkind and tell her the bullshit you pulled this week.” Fatin says and Shelby can feel Toni’s eyes on her.

“Shelbs… I’m- I didn’t mean to, I swear…” Toni said and Shelby can see that her eyes are pleading.

“You scared the shit out of me.” Shelby says, tears welling up quickly.

“I know, I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again, I promise.” Toni answered.

“I know it won’t. We’re eating dinner together from now on to make sure it doesn’t ever get to that point again.” Shelby quietly says and Toni just nods.

Leah puts Toni’s favorite meal and dessert in front of her and warns her not to eat too much because that’ll make her sick. Shelby knows it’s ridiculous to watch as intently as she is, but she wants to make sure Toni’s eating. Once she watches her eat one taco, she fixes herself a plate. S’mores cookies and tacos didn’t seem like a good combination but Toni seemed to be enjoying it which was what mattered the most. Toni ended up eating too much and feeling sick and Shelby stayed up with her until she felt good enough to sleep. 

The next morning when she woke up, Shelby made Toni breakfast and left it on her nightstand with a mug of orange juice and a note telling Toni to stay in bed and she’ll find a way to get her her notes and homework.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up kids😅

It had been three weeks since ‘the incident’ which is what Toni chooses to refer to her forgetting to eat, as. There was tension in the house any time Toni had turned down food. Fatin, Leah, and Shelby would all share a quick look before Toni made a promise to eat something later with them. Toni knew no one wanted her to forget to eat again, but it was all feeling like a little much. They were just trying to keep her safe but in the process, they were treating her like she was made of glass and it was starting to bother her.

When Toni hears yelling downstairs, she jumps up and races down to find out what was going on. She sees Fatin and Leah staring each other down. Toni can tell by the look on Fatin’s face that she’s not going to back down, which usually means she has a valid reason for being upset. Leah sees Toni standing there and somehow that upsets her even more.

“Perfect, I bet Toni’s here to take your side in this too. Because when doesn’t she?!” Leah said as she stormed out of the house.

“Okay. What the fuck was that about?” Toni asks, sitting on the couch.

“That was me getting angry about something I have every right to be angry about and Leah trying to pretend that I’m ridiculous.” Fatin says, dropping down next to Toni.

“Okay… I’m going to need a little more context.” Toni says with a laugh.

“Fuck. Okay. So, I went to bring Leah a coffee to the library, because I’m a good girlfriend, you know?” Fatin asks.

“Okay and what?” Toni asked.

“I get there, coffee in hand and this cheerleader looking bitch is openly hitting on her. And the part that makes me want to explode is that she was letting it happen. Not in an oblivious way but in a way where she was almost encouraging it. She was laughing and touching this girl’s arm. That shit isn’t okay! That’s basically flirting back!” Fatin yells, making Toni jump.

“Did you tell her you saw that?” Toni asked.

“Yeah, and she fucking denied it and told me I was overreacting.” Fatin answers.

“And you’re  _ sure  _ she was flirting back?” Toni asks.

“Obviously Toni. I wasn’t going to blow up my relationship for no fucking reason.” Fatin says, almost too defensively.

Toni and Fatin spend the next couple hours talking and before they know it, Shelby and Leah are walking into the house. Fatin freezes and Toni can see her tensing up.

“Shelby what the fuck?” Fatin says and if Toni’s honest, she’s a little confused too.

“Fatin, I think you overreacted a little bit. Can you just hear Leah out?” Shelby asks.

“Shelby, I literally  _ watched  _ this shit happen! I don’t need to hear her out any more than I already have! You would fucking kill Toni if you saw her doing that shit and don’t even pretend you wouldn’t! You almost killed a girl for looking at her, sophomore year and you two weren’t even dating! Were you overreacting? Yes! Am I dating Leah and reacting the way that I should? Yes!” Fatin yells.

“Listen, Fatin you don’t need to yell at me-” Shelby starts to say before Fatin explodes.

“Shelby! Are you  _ fucking _ kidding me?! Have  _ you  _ fucking listened to my side of shit? No! You let Leah tell you her side and just went with it. You want me to hear her out, yet she doesn’t deserve that right now. I have a fucking right to be mad. You walked in here ready to defend her and be on her side so don’t give me that shit. I do need to yell, you know why? Because I least expected this shit from fucking you and I’m disappointed.” Fatin says, the anger in her voice evident.

“Toni, seriously, you’re going to let her talk to me like that?” Shelby asks, bringing Toni out of her haze.

“What do you want me to do Shelbs?” Toni asks in disbelief.

“Not let someone you claim is your best friend, talk to me, your fucking fiance é, like that?!” Shelby yells back.

“I’ve listened to Fatin, okay, if you pulled the shit that Leah did, you’d be fucking single.” Toni says, her anger rising.

“People flirt with me all the time! What are you even talking about?!” Shelby yelled.

“Yeah, Shelby, they do. And every fucking time you tell them about me and you make it clear that you’re not interested. You don’t sit there doing shit that encourages them like laughing with them and fucking touching them. What the fuck is wrong with you?” Toni yells back.

“You’re fucking unbelievable. Why don’t you sleep in Fatin’s room tonight, since you don’t think that defending me is not important.” Shelby says coldly.

“You know what? Fucking fine. But you’re fucked up for not listening to Fatin. She  _ saw _ this shit. Okay? I get that Leah got to you first, but  _ fuck _ Shelby, you didn’t even think of listening to Fatin?” Toni says with anger in her voice and eyes.

“And you? Did  _ you _ listen to Leah’s side of the story?” Shelby bit back.

“No, I didn’t, and I’ll fucking tell you why. I came downstairs to them yelling at each other and as soon as Leah fucking saw me, she threw a tantrum and  _ left _ . So maybe if she didn’t flee the fucking scene like a criminal that had been caught, I would have heard her out.” Toni growled.

Shelby was looking at her with so much anger that Toni had never seen in her before. It was concerning for her, but she wasn’t backing down because she knew she wasn’t wrong.

“Right, and then you just let Fatin attack me for walking in with Leah.” Shelby said, her voice laced in anger.

“Fatin has the right to be pissed, okay? Her reacting, that’s not on me to judge. And you fucking know that.” Toni bit back.

One look at Fatin’s face and she can tell that she’s surprised that this has blown up as much as it has. She also looks a little scared that it’s blown up the way it has. If Toni’s honest, she’s surprised too. She doesn’t know how this went from Fatin and Leah’s fight to her and Shelby’s in a matter of seconds. Toni turns to go upstairs and grab her things to bring them into Fatin’s room for the night when Shelby says something that hits Toni unbelievably hard.

“Yeah, sure Toni, run away. That’s what you’re good at.” Shelby said with a huff. 

Toni has tears in her eyes as she goes up the stairs. She had no idea why Shelby would say something that hurtful to her. This wasn’t even their fight, but Shelby made it into something personal with that comment and she knew it. When she comes back down the stairs but she avoids Shelby’s eyes and makes her way into the kitchen. She can hear Shelby scoff and go upstairs with Leah. Fatin slowly makes her way into the kitchen.

“Toni, I never meant to cause shit with you guys.” Fatin said quietly.

“I know you didn’t dude. I don’t know what Leah told her but you were right, if I did that shit, she would literally murder me.” Toni answered.

“So I guess we’re having a sleepover?” Fatin asks.

“Looks like it dude.” Toni answered, a sad smile on her face.

——————————————————————————————

Shelby looks at Leah who’s normally quiet but this is almost eerie. It’s late but she knows sleeping right now is the last thing on her mind. She knows she shouldn’t have said her last comment to Toni and she feels guilty about saying it. It was a low blow and it wasn’t even true. But she knew it would hurt Toni the way she was hurting that Toni didn’t stand up for her.

Shelby clears her throat to get Leah’s attention so she can find out how much of what Fatin said was true.

“Leah. Is what Fatin said true? Were you flirting with that girl?” Shelby asks.

“It’s not my fault, okay? Fatin never flirts with me anymore, what do you want me to say? It felt nice! Plus, I didn’t think you were going to go and blow up your own fucking relationship.” Leah defends.

“Leah! You told me that Fatin was mad at you over something stupid! And what are you talking about?! Fatin literally hits on you every fucking day! I was trying to defend you and for fucking what! You deserved to have Fatin pissed at you! And Jesus, Toni has every fucking right to be pissed at me now. Because I defended you, thinking you told me the whole fucking truth!” Shelby says, getting upset.

“It  _ is _ stupid! So I flirted a little! Fucking sue me! I wasn’t  _ doing  _ anything about the flirting! And you didn’t  _ have _ to yell at Toni or bring her into things.  _ You  _ did that, I didn’t make you do that shit.” Leah defends.

Shelby can’t believe what she’s hearing and she gets up for the door.

“Shelby, where are you going?” Leah asks.

“To apologize to Fatin and make up with Toni. You can either make up with Fatin or you can sleep on the couch. You’re not sleeping up here.” Shelby said, her voice hard.

Shelby practically ran out the door to go to Fatin’s room. Only the door is open and the room is empty. She runs downstairs and sees Toni and Fatin in the kitchen talking and eating. They both stop and look at her and the look on her face must be worrying because both of them stand up.

“Shelby what happened? Is Leah okay?” Fatin asked.

“She’s fine. She just, she finally told me the truth about what happened. I wanted to apologize, to both of you. She was in the wrong and Toni was right, I would kill her if she’d done what Leah did.” Shelby said.

“I told you she probably didn’t tell her the truth.” Toni said.

Shelby sheepishly walked over and hugged Toni, breathing out a sigh of relief when Toni hugged her back. When she let go of Toni, Fatin looked at her with a smile and opened her arms. Shelby launched into them and hugged her, repeating how sorry she was. Fatin kept telling her it was okay and practically pushed her into Toni again.

“Please sleep in our bed tonight. I told Leah to sleep on the couch.” Shelby mumbled.

“Okay baby.” Toni agreed.

——————————————————————————————

It had been a long night but Toni was happy that Leah had told Shleby the truth. Toni knew that Fatin never tried to bring their relationship into the fight, but it had ended up in there. Shelby had fallen asleep in Toni’s arms after crying a lot and apologizing time and time again. She didn’t know how, but she was awake before Shelby was. It may have been due to the fact that Shelby  _ had _ cried herself to sleep. Toni just appreciated being awake while she could take in Shelby’s relaxed state. That is, until Shelby becomes restless. At first, Toni thinks it’s a bad dream she’s having. Until she hears a moan coming from Shelby. Confused, Toni just watches her to figure out what type of moan it was. That’s when Shelby’s hips start to move and she moans again.

It takes a second but Toni realizes that Shelby is having a sex dream. Toni’s curiosity was sparked, Shelby didn't’ have many sex dreams that manifested themselves into her reacting physically. Now Toni was wondering who Shelby was dreaming of, and if she could help her. 

Toni drags her fingers up Shelby’s bare legs and another moan comes from her. Toni just smiles and drags her fingers higher and traces Shelby’s underwear. Shelby’s hips move to follow Toni’s fingers and her smile widens. She starts to lightly rub Shelby's clit and a whimper comes from Shelby. One of need and desire. So she repeats the action.

“Toni.” Shelby moans and Toni freezes.

Her eyes travel to Shelby’s face and she’s still asleep. Toni was beyond happy to know that Shelby was dreaming of her. She continued to rub Shelby’s clit, adding pressure at different times. Shelby’s moans grew and grew, Toni could tell her orgasm was building and wondered how she wasn’t awake yet. It took a couple more minutes of Toni rubbing Shelby’s clit and Shelby was moaning as her orgasm hit her.

Suddenly, Shelby was breathing heavily and sitting up. She looked over at Toni in confusion.

“Babe, I just had the most intense sex dream.” Shelby breathed out.

“Oh, I know. You may have had a little help with that.” Toni said with a smile.

“You, what?” Shelby asked, confused.

“I heard you moaning and then you started moving your hips. When I touched you, you followed my fingers and moaned my name.” Toni said with a smirk.

“So that’s why it was so intense…” Shelby thought out loud. 

“I could double the intensity for you. You don’t actually have to be up for another hour.” Toni says slowly.

Shelby’s smile grew and she pulled Toni into her. Toni loved when Shelby silently demanded for her to fuck her. And who was Toni to deny her of that?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A break from the angst I saddled you guys with😅

It took a couple of weeks, but Fatin and Leah fixed their problems without putting Toni and Shelby between them again. Christmas was now rapidly approaching and Toni was yet again, someone that the world was keeping tabs on. UCLA had Los Angeles Sparks players attending their games as well as some NBA players. Among those players were Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma, both wearing UCLA jerseys with Toni’s name and number on them. They had talked to her after a couple of the games and talked her into considering tattoos. But of them were covered in tattoos so it made sense that they were talking her into getting one. Toni had thought about getting a tattoo before, she was just scared of what it would feel like. But with Christmas coming up, Toni had decided that she was finally going to go through with getting a tattoo.

“Hey babe?” Toni asked.

“Hmm?” Shelby asked, still doing her homework.

“You would still love me if I got a tattoo, right?” Toni asked.

“What? Of course I would. Why wouldn’t I?” Shelby asked, looking at her.

“I don’t know, I was just, I had a conversation with- God, this is so weird to even say because it doesn’t feel real to say.” Toni said with a laugh.

“Just say it baby.” Shelby urged her.

“I was talking to Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma and they were talking me into getting a tattoo and like, I've thought about doing it before too, but I think I’m finally going to do it…” Toni said quickly.

“Wow, bumping elbows with those tall famous men, now.” Shelby teased.

“Shut up, I told you it felt weird to say.” Toni said, covering her face.

“What are you thinking about getting?” Shelby asked.

“Promise not to laugh?” Toni asked.

“I promise, unless it’s really bad.” Shelby answered.

“I think I want to get a couple actually… Like with winter break coming up, they should have the time to heal before we come back. But uh one of them is a portrait of Wednesday Addams. You know, because Coach calls me Wednesday…” Toni mumbles out.

“Yeah? Where do you want to get it?” Shelby asked with a smile.

“Like probably my forearm…” Toni said quietly.

“Okay, what else do you wanna get?” Shelby asked, trying to show Toni she’s supportive of this.

“Uh, I think I want to get an Emily Dickinson quote that says, ‘I’m nobody,’ and also a little cross on my hand by my thumb. Like where my thumb meets my wrist, if that makes sense.” Toni answers.

“And the cross is because…?” Shelby asked softly.

“Because of you, obviously, Shlebs. Just another way of keeping you with me at all times.” Toni said with a smile.

“You’re cute. Let’s get an appointment set up for you.” Shelby said, matching Toni’s smile.

“Really?” Toni asked.

“Of course baby, if you want to get them, I support you one hundred percent.” Shelby said with a smile.

The next day, Toni and Shelby called around to see where she could get an appointment. Luckily, she was able to get an appointment. But Toni was feeling anxious about it and made them promise that Shelby could go with her to hold her hand. The appointment thankfully landed on the last day of classes for Toni so she was able to get them done the day before they went home for break. Then Toni would be able to heal up for a week before getting back to practice and games.

The entire time she was getting the tattoos done, Fatin was on FaceTime with Shelby.

“Shelby you need to point this phone at her if she starts acting like a little pussy. I never want to let her live it down and I’m screen recording this.” Fatin said with a laugh.

“Well, just get ready for the shading, that’s when she’ll probably be in the most pain.” Jason, the tattoo artist said with a laugh.

“Oh perfect. Thanks Jason.” Toni said, rolling her eyes.

Jason hadn’t lied though. The shading was the worst part. Toni did her best to keep her face composed as he did it because she didn’t want Fatin to have a video of her in pain to tease her about. She makes it through after a few hours and all of them are done. Her arm hurts like a bitch but she’s more than happy that she’s done it. Jason goes through the typical rules of not going out in the sun with them and to keep it clean as well as to put lotion on it after it starts to scab.

Toni goes home to get ready with the rest of the girls for their road trip home for Christmas. They planned to do the drive in three days and get home in time for Christmas Eve with their families.

——————————————————————————————

Shelby has been riding shotgun while Toni drives to the first hotel and she can’t help but look over at Toni whenever they get to a particularly sunny portion of the drive. There’s something about the way the sun lights up her eyes. They go from being dark and stormy to almost clear from the sun. It was the most beautiful thing Shelby had ever seen. She knows Toni can feel her eyes on her, because every time she’s staring, Toni scrunches her face at her.

“Can I help you, ma’am?” Toni asks with a smile.

“Yeah, are you single?” Shelby asks, returning the same smile.

“Alas, I am not. I am engaged to this really pretty girl. We’re kind of internet famous, whatever that means. But people ship us and our kissing has gone viral.” Toni said, feigning sadness.

“I think I’m worth breaking up with her for.” Shelby said with a shrug.

“Yeah?” Toni asks with a playful tone.

“Mhm.” Shelby answers.

“Well alright. Hey Shelbs, I need to break off our engagement so I can date you, that cool with you?” Toni asks with a smile.

“You’re so lame.” Shelby answers, laughing.

“Me?! You’re the one who was hitting on me!” Toni defends herself.

“Well, yeah. I mean, who could blame me?” Shelby said, shrugging her shoulders.

“You’re lucky you’re so pretty.” Toni says, directing her focus back to the road.

They continue the drive until they reach their first hotel. Shelby insists on getting the bags from the car while Toni checks them in. Somehow they were here before the other girls and Shelby can only assume it’s because Fatin needed to pee, again. That was what usually slowed their road trips down. As if on queue, Shelby gets a text from Leah telling her that Fatin needed to pee and that they were fifteen minutes away. She just laughed to herself and walked into the hotel to find Toni.

Toni was still at the front desk waiting for someone to come help her so they could get their key. She sent an apologetic look to Shelby and rang the bell. Shelby just sat down in one of the lobby chairs to wait for Toni to get their key. Finally, someone came out from the back and was talking to Toni.

“Hey, I know you!” The concierge said to Toni.

“Uhhh, you do?” Toni asks, confusion on her face.

“Yeah! You play for UCLA! You’re the point guard!” Said the girl.

“Ahh, yup, that’s me.” Toni said, clearly still not comfortable being recognized.

“God, you’re hot.” Said the girl.

“Excuse me?” Toni asked and Shelby was listening even closer now.

“Like, oh no. I read you wrong, didn’t I? You’re not gay.” The girl says in embarrassment.

“Uh, no. I am. But I’m also engaged? The girl I kiss before every game? I proposed after we won the National Championship? Ring any bells?” Toni asked and the only bell Shelby wanted to ring was this girl’s.

“Well, I don’t see a ring on your finger. And I don’t see her, anywhere around here.” The girl said, touching Toni’s hand and Shelby’s up on her feet.

“You’re gonna wish you hadn’t done that…” Toni says quietly.

“Why’s that? You gonna punish me?” The girl asks and Shelby has to refrain from jumping over the counter.

“No, but I’ll kill you if you talk to my fiance é like I don’t exist, again.” Shelby growled.

“Damn, she’s feisty.” The girl said with a laugh.

“I don’t share. Give us our room key and leave my  _ fiance _ _ é  _ and I the fuck alone.” Shelby said through her teeth.

Her fists were clenched and she was seeing red. She couldn’t believe how disrespectful this girl was being. She was  _ right there _ ! Shelby heard the front door open and knew that it would be the rest of the girls. She was surprised when Rachel was suddenly next to her.

“Well, what’s going on here, ladies?” Rachel asked, calmly assessing the situation.

“Uhhh she hit on me, in front of Shelbs, and now we’re at this point.” Toni said quietly.

“Ah, well, usually, it’s Toni’s temper that you have to worry about, isn’t that right Toni? But girly, you made a big mistake thinking this tall drink of southern belle wouldn’t kick your ass into next week, drag it back, and then bury it six feet under an oil rig for flirting with her  fiance é. I have seen her make men cry. My suggestion is that you choose your next move carefully.” Rachel instructs.

“Yeah, and by ‘carefully’, she means you better give those two their roomkey.” Dot says to make sure the point gets driven home.

The girl just nods her head after rolling her eyes and hands them a room key. One that Shelby almost rips her arm off to take from her. They go and settle in the lobby to wait for the rest of the girls to get their roomkeys when all of a sudden, they hear Leah blowing up.

“Are you  _ fucking  _ kidding me right now? You  _ stupid  _ bitch. You  _ just _ fucking hit on someone that was engaged and then you not but five minutes after that, hit on  _ my _ fucking girlfriend?!” Leah says in anger.

“Good lord.” Shelby says in anger.

Just as she’s about to stand up, she feels Toni grab her hand and keep her next to her.

“Toni, what?” Shelby asks.

“They can handle it. You need to cool down.” Toni said softly.

Shelby just huffed at her answer and focused her attention back on the front desk. Leah’s face was red with anger and Fatin was standing firmly in front of her trying to calm her down. Which is when Marty surprises them all.

“You know, I’ve worked in a hotel before, and I’m pretty sure that if you upset this many guests, your manager won’t be too thrilled. It really just takes  _ one _ little phone call and you could lose your job. I get the feeling you don’t want to lose your job. Is that feeling right?” Marty asks and Shelby raises her eyebrows.

“No, I don’t.” The girl answers.

“Good, then get us our room keys, stop hitting people because you’re batting zero, and you’re going to give us a free dinner for our trouble. That way, we’re less inclined to call your supervisor.” Marty said calmly.

The girl just nods and hands the rest of the girls their room keys. Once Toni and Shelby get in their room, Toni clears her throat.

“So… You were a little… Intense, back there.” Toni says softly.

“You’re  _ mine _ Shalifoe. I’m not interested in sharing you with anyone.” Shelby states.

“I mean, I thought it was hot. You being all possessive of me.” Toni answers with a shrug.

“I think it’s the tattoos. Full offense, they make you hotter and now this is going to become a regular occurrence. You getting hit on, me coming close to breaking a bitch’s nose. It’s all your fault.” Shelby says, kissing Toni on the forehead. 

“How?? She hit on Fatin too! She’s probably just horney.” Toni grumbled.

“Who could blame her? I would be too if I saw you walk into a room.” Shelby said, sending chills down Toni’s back.

That night, they earn their first noise complaint, but so do Fatin and Leah. So far on their trips, Fatin and Leah have gotten the most noise complaints. Shelby prefers it that way, but she knew she wasn’t holding back tonight, after what happened earlier. She made sure Toni was moaning loudly and that the same girl from earlier would have to deliver the noise complaint to them. When she did, Shelby answered the door with a smug look on her face because she knew it wasn’t a competition, but she had still won. She had Toni and no one else could say that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter at the end, may reflect my own personal beliefs about a certain comic-strip turned broadway musical turned big-screen musical. If you have an opinion that differs from it, I must inform you that you're wrong and my belief is the correct one. There is no contest. I would apologize, but I'm not sorry for being right. I have also had the same conversation that Toni has about this musical, so trust me when I say that it's something I'm passionate about lmao. It's probably the lamest thing I could be passionate about but here I am. I hope you enjoy it, and if your opinion is different from mine, just remember to keep it to yourself😌

When they arrive at the Goodkind house, Toni has to take a call from her lawyer about the lawsuit that should be coming to an end shortly. Her lawyer was confident that she wasn’t going to end up owing any money but Dave Goodkind was going to owe her money because of the damages he caused to her face. Toni didn’t love the fact that she was going to be getting money from Shelby’s dad, but he was the one who brought it on himself, as Jobeth had put it.

Toni’s mind makes a connection she had forgotten to make earlier when she thought of Jobeth. She hadn’t told her that she had gotten tattoos. She didn’t even know where Jobeth stood on tattoos or if the twins were going to be influenced by seeing hers. She started to panic and began pacing around in the driveway when Jobeth walked out of the house.

“Toni Shalifoe you are going to burn a trench clear into my driveway if you keep pacing like that. Shelby already showed me pictures of the tattoos. Get in here, the twins want to see you and I wouldn’t mind spending time with my favorite daughter-in-law.” Jobeth said with a laugh.

Toni was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief and went into the house with Jobeth. She was immediately greeted by the twins who seemed to be huge since the last time she saw them. They talked about school and basketball while Jobeth told Toni that Trevor had been telling everyone that his sister was marrying her. 

“He had me bring in your National Championship ring and the picture of you two where he’s wearing it, so he could make his class jealous.” Jobeth said with a laugh.

“Yeah? What’d you bring in Ken?” Toni asked with a smile.

“I brought the jersey they gave you when you got hit in the eye and got it all bloody.” Kennedy answered with a smile.

“Ah, so I’m being used for popularity by the Goodkind children.” Toni said with a laugh and Shelby cleared her throat.

“Excuse me, not  _ all _ of them.” Shelby said.

“You’re right, the vast majority of them. Jobeth, your daughter almost k-n-o-c-k-e-d this girl out the other day for hitting on me at the hotel.” Toni said with a laugh, watching Shelby’s eyes go wide.

“Woah, really Shelbs?!” Trevor asked.

“That’s so cool.” Kennedy said with a smile and Shelby shook her head.

“You know Toni, they’re not just in the ‘gifted’ program for fun, they are actually gifted.” Shelby said with a laugh.

“I forget, sue me. Wait, don’t. Your father is already trying that.” Toni said, shaking her head.

“How  _ is _ that going?” Jobeth asked cautiously.

“It’s… I mean it’s almost over. He lost his lawsuit but they have to rule on my countersuit. Basically, my lawyer suggested that I sue him over emotional and physical damages and it turns out that I have a much better case, being the one who had the black and blue face.” Toni said.

“Well good. That damn Dave thinks he’s above every law and every other person is beneath him.” Jobeth said, rolling her eyes.

“Yeah, something tells me he won’t be going away anytime soon… But we can hope.” Shelby said quietly.

“Shelbs…” Jobeth warns.

“Woah! Momma! Toni has drawings!” Trevor said, his voice full of excitement and Toni immediately froze.

“You’re right Trev, she does. Why don’t you ask her about them?” Shelby suggests.

“Do they hurt?” Trevor asks.

“Yeah, they’re still pretty fresh.” Toni answered with a chuckle.

“Who’s that girl?” Kennedy asked.

“So, Coach Close calls me Wednesday Addams because sometimes I’m a little dark and gloomy at practice and during games, I’m more than willing to commit a capital offense to get us a win, and this is Wednesday Addams.” Toni explained.

“Why do you have one that says, ‘I’m nobody’?” Trevor asked.

“Well bud, you’re going to learn about her in your English classes eventually, but a very famous poet, Emily Dickinson, wrote a poem about how being nobody would be so much better than being well-known, or being  _ somebody _ . And after last year where everyone’s eyes were on me, and this year, now that they’re still on me, I would much rather be nobody. But the poem is called  _ I’m Nobody! Who are you? _ ” Toni said with a smile.

“We saw NBA players at your games. Do they make you famous?” Trevor asked.

“Uh, well, they sure do come with a lot of attention.” Toni answers with a laugh.

“What about the cross? You’re not someone that’s into religion, we know that.” Jobeth asks with a laugh, knowing that a seven year old Toni told Dave Goodkind that she was allergic to church.

“Ah, well you guys know I wear the bracelets, but sometimes they break and it’s just another way of keeping Shelbs with me wherever I go.” Toni said with a smile.

Toni looks over at Shelby who is smiling at her already. Trevor and Kennedy are just in awe over the fact that they’re on Toni’s body permanently. 

“Now, be honest, did those basketball men pressure you into these?” Jobeth asked sternly.

“Momma…” Shelby warns.

“Shelbs, it's okay. They did talk to me about them, and them doing that for sure solidified my decision.” Toni said.

“Well, as long as they didn’t pressure you. I’ve seen them Shelby, they have so many tattoos you can’t even see their skin.” Jobeth said with a shrug.

“Well, don’t hate me, but I think I’m going to get more of them…” Toni said.

“I could never hate you, Toni.” Jobeth said laughing.

It’s still light out so Toni brings Trevor to the basketball courts to practice with him and just spend time with him since she doesn’t get to do it much anymore. Toni feels bad that she hasn’t been able to play with Trevor as much as she’d like to, so anytime he asks, she does her best to do whatever he wants to do.

——————————————————————————————

“You know, it’s really sweet that Toni takes him out to the courts to practice.” Momma says.

“She loves him and loves that he loves basketball as much as she does.” Shelby answers with a smile.

“Do you two think you’ll have kids?” Momma asks slowly.

“Toni loves kids so much and so do I, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t. I’ve always told her she would be an amazing momma and she’s said the same thing to me. I’m pretty sure we’re on the same page.” Shelby said with a shrug.

“Well, don’t you two go planning kids right now, you both still need to finish school and figure out your plans for after graduation.” Momma warns.

“Did I tell you I chose my major?” Shelby asks.

“You didn’t, what is it sweetie?” Momma asks.

“Well, I really love to write poetry, so I chose creative writing with a minor in poetry. I know, I know you’re worried about after college, but it’s an English degree and I can use it for a lot of things, I promise momma.” Shelby says quietly.

“You really love writing, huh?” Momma asked with a smile.

“Honestly? I really just love writing about Toni. It’s like I’ll see something that reminds me of her and all of a sudden, there’s a poem in my head about her, you know?” Shelby asks.

“I don’t know the feeling, but it sounds amazing honey. I’m so glad you found your passion.” Momma says with a smile.

“I really did momma. But enough about me, do you think we can talk Ken into watching a movie with us until the two superstars get back from the courts?” Shelby asks.

“I think we could talk her into it.” Momma says, laughing.

It turns out, it doesn’t take much to convince Kennedy that they should watch a movie together. She picks  _ The Nightmare Before Christmas  _ even though Shelby tried to argue that it wasn’t a Christmas movie like they had agreed on.

“You just don’t know good cinema, Shelbs.” Kennedy said with a huff as she hit play on the movie.

“Yeah, Shelbs, you just don’t know good cinema.” Momma teases.

“Since when did she become an eighty-year-old man who smokes tobacco out of a pipe? Who else says cinema?  _ Especially _ at her age!” Shelby says with a laugh.

“I’m mature for my age,  _ Shelby _ .” Kennedy states, turning the volume up, hoping Shelby will be quiet.

Shelby chooses to remain quiet because though she doesn’t  _ love _ the movie, she knows Kennedy does and spending time with her family is why they come back every year. It’s starting to get dark out when Shelby’s phone starts going off with a FaceTime call from Toni. She’s confused but she answers it.

“Hey baby, what’s-” Shelby starts before realizing it’s Trevor that called her.

“Shelbs… Uh, we were playing just a nice game of twenty-one, I  _ swear _ , and I had the ball and Toni tried to steal it but one of her fingers...” Trevor said trailing off.

“Trevor, where is Toni right now?” Shelby asks, concern in her voice.

“She’s uh… Over there!” Trevor said, pointing the phone at Toni.

From what Shelby could see, Toni was hunched over her hand in pain. Toni had been so good this season about taking care of her body and not getting hurt, especially after the incident earlier in the year. Of course, a freak accident with her brother would happen.

“Okay, Trev, I know she probably told you to stay away from her but I need you to bring me over there so I can talk to her. It’ll be okay buddy.” Shelby said, running to get her keys to drive to the courts.

“Okay, here Shelbs.” Trevor said as he walked up to Toni.

“Toni, baby, I need you to look at me.” Shelby said softly and she could see the pain on Toni’s face and she knew it wasn’t good.

“She’s really hurt Shelbs.” Trevor said, his voice breaking and Shelby knew he was going to cry.

“Hey, buddy, it’s okay. I promise, I’m on the way, we’re going to get it fixed, okay?” Shelby said softly.

“Okay… But it’s bad Shelby…” Trevor said with a sniffle.

“Toni, is it broken or dislocated, I need you to tell me what you think it is.” Shelby said.

“I don’t know. I think, I think broken, but it’s not coming through the skin, it is sideways though…” Toni answered.

“Okay, I’ll be there in one minute. Get over to the parking lot you two.” Shelby instructed, staying on the call.

Toni and Trevor were in the parking lot when Shelby pulled up and got in the car. Shelby drove them as fast and as safely as she could to the hospital. After the doctors looked at it and did their x-rays, they determined that Toni had broken her finger. Not the news that either one of them had wanted to hear. The doctors showed her how to tape her finger up and sent her home in a splint. Luckily, she wouldn’t need surgery to correct the break because they were able to set it without the need for pins. Toni had also made sure to ask if she could still play basketball and they told her that as long as she had the trainer tape it and keep it protected, they didn’t see why not.

The drive home started off quiet. Shelby knew that Trevor was feeling bad, even though Toni had reassured him that it was okay. Thankfully, Toni knew that Trevor needed a little extra love so she had sat in the backseat with him. Toni was high as a kite from the pain medication they gave her and Shelby and Trevor were loving every second of her ramblings.

“Did you guys know that babies are born without kneecaps? True story. They’re just a big ball of squish.” Toni stated and Shelby laughed.

“Trevor, did you know that your sister Shelby was ready to throw down with someone because they flirted with me?” Toni asks and Shelby’s laugh turns to a groan.

“Really?” Trevor asked with a laugh.

“Really, I swear, hand to the lesbian Bible, she was ready to tear that girl apart.” Toni said, matching Trevor’s laugh.

“What’s the lesbian Bible?” Trevor asked.

“Ohhh it’s a stack of Play-” Toni starts before Shelby cuts her off.

“Do y’all want some food? We can stop and bring some home for momma and Ken?” Shelby asked, hoping that the change of subject would work.

“Ohhhhh Shelbs, baby, sweetie, the love of my life, my future wife, can we  _ please _ go to Culver’s? I will literally do  _ anything _ you want in the bedroom.” Toni begged.

“Like, redecorate and stuff?” Trevor asked.

“No like-” Toni starts to say before Shelby cuts her off again.

“Yup! Yup! Just like redecorating bud. But yes, we can go to Culver’s.” Shelby said in a panic.

She just earns a delighted squeal from Toni in the backseat in response and they head to Culver’s. Shelby has only eaten there a couple of times but she knew that it was one of Toni’s favorite restaurants so she wasn’t going to argue with the girl since she could not keep her comments in her mouth apparently.

After getting their food they head home where Momma has Toni’s comfort movie already queued up for them to watch. Shelby loved that you would never know what Toni’s comfort movie is just by looking at her. You would think something flashy or dangerous, like a  _ Fast and the Furious _ movie. But no, her complex future wife had a guilty pleasure for musicals. Her favorite was  _ Annie _ .

“Jobeth, you even have the right version ready.” Toni said with a sob.

“Of course I do, I know how you feel about this movie.” Momma answered hugging Toni.

“It’s just, the 1982 version had such a  _ brilliant _ cast, Jobeth. It had Tim Curry, a living freaking legend. Albert Finney, a man of so much talent. Ann Reinking, a broadway dancing legend! Bernadette Peters, with a career that spans over fifty years! And who would or  _ could _ ever forget the living legend herself, Carol Burnett? God, she was just such a pioneer for comedy sketch television, we would not have  _ SNL _ without her, you know? The remakes of  _ Annie _ , can’t even hold a candle to the original film. Anyone who says differently isn’t cultured and doesn’t know good cinema.” Toni rattles off and Shelby rolls her eyes.

“So that’s where Ken got the saying.” Shelby says with a laugh.

“That doesn’t matter, Shelbs. What matters is that Toni is right and the 1982 version is the best version.” Kennedy says with a shrug.

Shelby isn’t going to argue with them. They weren’t wrong. She herself thought the 1982 version was the best one. There was no contest when you started to compare the casts. But it was still cute to her to watch Toni get riled up about it all over again. She could remember the first time it came up and Toni explained to her for half an hour why the original film was the best out of all of them. She hadn’t even disagreed, she had just laughed when she realized how serious Toni was about her love for the movie.

They all sat and watched the movie, Shelby was softly singing along as she held Toni in her arms, knowing that it would make Toni smile. Every time she got a chance to look at her face, she could see Toni mouthing the words to the movie with the actors. She knew Toni had seen the movie more times than she’d seen anything and every time they watched it, Shelby watched her falling in love with the movie all over again like it was the first time she was seeing it. It was something special to watch and she felt blessed to get to bring her that joy when she needed it.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we are coming down to the last chapters of this part of the story. There's only one chapter after this and then we're moving on to the next year of their lives! I hope you're enjoying the story!

March madness was approaching again and UCLA had the eyes of the country on them. This year the final four and National Championship games were being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Toni had been in Minnesota before she moved to Texas when she was five, she didn’t have that many memories of it, but something about it felt like going home again. This is what was driving her to push even harder in the tournament. She wanted to make it there. Everyone already bought tickets for the games, even if UCLA didn’t make it, but she wanted to be playing.

Toni’s schedule was feeling more and more crammed with things she needed to do. It was a lot to juggle but she was thankful for Shelby. Shelby not only set up a calendar on her phone that would update everyday to let her know what she needed to do, but she also set up a whiteboard calendar in their room so she could see it when she was getting ready to leave for the day. It was something that was so small, but it was so big in Toni’s eyes.

Toni picked up what she thought was her sports medicine notebook and opened it up to find that it was some poetry that Shelby had written. Toni hadn’t intended on reading it but a line caught her eye.

_Hands teasing me in public,_

_My desperation builds with every flick._

_She demands my silence,_

_Saying God so much it sounds like I’m looking for guidance._

She had read Shelby’s poetry before and usually it was full of cute things about her. Some of the most beautiful words that Toni had ever read. But this was new and Toni was intrigued and she turned the page. 

_Your hips rolling like waves at sea,_

_Moans that are only for me._

_Scratches down my back,_

_The room around us is black._

_My teeth on your skin,_

_No one can reach us in the world we’re in._

_Your hips pinned to the bed,_

_Thighs squeezing my head._

_Your body begging for more,_

_Not a care in the world that you’ll be sore._

_My tongue rolling over your clit,_

_You begging me not to quit._

_Your hand gripping my hair,_

_When you reach your climax it’s hard not to stare._

Reading these was not Toni’s best idea. Shelby wouldn’t be home for hours and now her mind was swimming with the mental images of what Shelby described. She could remember the nights that each of the poems were based on, and it sent a shiver up her spine.

The first night, they were out to see a movie and Toni couldn’t keep her hands to herself. Shelby had looked so beautiful that night. She was wearing one of Toni’s flannels with a shirt under it and her eyes were glowing. Her shorts were sinfully short and perfectly tight. Toni hadn’t been able to keep her eyes off of Shelby for the entire night. So when they were in the theater, she told Shelby to be quiet and started to draw light circles on the inside of her thighs. She had always listened to Shelby’s breathing when she touched her, and as soon as she started drawing the circles, she heard Shelby’s breath catch in her throat. Toni lightly drug her nails down Shelby’s thighs and she heard Shelby whimper. As soon as she heard that, she stopped what she was doing. Shelby had looked at her with pleading eyes and Toni nodded and continued. She got Shelby to take her flannel off and put it on her lap so she could unbutton her shorts and slide her hand in. She slowly worked Shelby up, knowing that if she went too fast, Shelby would blow their cover. Shelby kept whispering “oh my God” under her breath, and thankfully it was during a particularly loud part of the movie so no one else in the theater could hear her. She had stopped watching the movie and knew that Shelby wouldn’t remember much of it either, but they didn’t regret their decision when the movie ended.

The second night was the night after UCLA had won the National Championship and Toni and Shelby had gotten engaged. Shelby had brought her to the hotel that night and pulled out the dildo that she knew was Toni’s favorite. When she had questioned Shelby about having it, she casually said it was because she knew they would win and she wanted to make the night special, it was just a happy accident that they had also gotten engaged that night. Shelby had started agonizingly slow, and then she would pick up her pace, resulting in scratch marks being left down Shelby’s back. Toni came twice from that alone, but Shelby let her know that she wasn’t done with her after that and slid down her body and spent enough time between her legs to make her come undone six more times. Her body had already been exhausted from the game but after that, there was no question that she was going to be sore the next day. But she knew that it was more than worth it, especially when it came to Shelby.

Toni had a game that night, she couldn’t be thinking about sex with Shelby right now. They had to play for the PAC-12 Conference title tonight against Stanford. Meaning she would have to see Sam, yet again. The NCAA refs had always made it a point to reach out to both teams and make sure that they knew they wouldn’t be tolerating any extra curricular activity from either Toni or Sam. This had been going on since the incident when Sam had elbowed Toni in the face last year.

——————————————————————————————

Shelby was nervous about tonight. UCLA was favored to win the conference title and go into the tournament as a first seed. Shelby knew that Toni wanted this game and wanted to beat Sam. But all Shelby could think about was the last time that Sam landed an elbow to Toni’s face and gave her a black eye and stitches. More than that, Shelby planned on finally giving Toni a ring and proposing back to her. She hadn’t known how to approach giving Toni the ring and Fatin had made it a point to tell her that she needed to propose to Toni now and that was just how it went for gay couples. 

Shelby couldn’t help but wonder if this was what Toni had felt the night of the National Championship game. She had UCLA and a large part of Texas on her shoulders and on top of that, she planned to propose to Shelby. Shelby couldn’t help but laugh at herself. She knew Toni wanted to marry her, this was just a way for her to put a ring on Toni’s finger too. After the incident at the hotel, she needed people to know that Toni was taken and not going to give in to temptation.

Shelby quickly ran home from class and got changed, knowing Toni would be at the arena already. She rounded up the rest of the girls and got them to the arena for the game.

“You know, I don’t know why other teams even show up. They know Toni is going to kill them.” Fatin said with a shrug.

“Don’t jinx it. Everyone can have an off day, and just because Toni works harder than anyone, it doesn’t mean that she can’t have an off day.” Shelby warned them.

“I’m just saying, Toni hangs out with Lakers and Sparks now, she knows how to train better than anyone. Why embarrass yourself on national television?” Fatin asks.

“Yeah, speaking of Toni’s new friends, have you guys talked about what you’re doing after graduation? Does she know if she’s going to the WNBA or not going pro?” Leah asks.

“Uh, we haven’t really talked a lot about it. But I know that they pay more overseas than they do in the WNBA, so I think that may be the route she takes over the WNBA. But you know, she’ll have to talk to her future manager about that and see if she and her girlfriend who will hopefully be her wife, are willing to move overseas with her.” Shelby said with a shrug.

“Hmmm well, speaking as the girlfriend and hopeful wife, I would say I’m willing to move.” Fatin answered.

The game wasn’t even close. Toni had gotten Sam into foul trouble right away and for the rest of the game, Toni was in control. UCLA coasted to an easy win and Toni was clearly happy about it. Shelby watched as Toni did her post-game interviews and waited for her to come out of the locker room. 

“Hey babe, you ready to go?” Toni asks with a smile as she kissed Shelby’s cheek.

“Of course, but first, I wanted to talk to you about something.” Shelby said.

“Oh no, that doesn’t sound good. Babe, I kept my temper in check, I was a perfect angel tonight.” Toni quickly defended.

“No, no, no, no, baby it’s nothing like that.” Shelby said with a laugh and watched Toni relax.

“Oh, okay. What is it then?” Toni asked.

“Well, you love this court, right? It’s your home away from home. You’ve literally lost blood, sweat, and tears on this court. I have watched you give everything you had to this court. I love how much you love playing here and how much drive you have for coming out here every night and doing your best. I feel an intense amount of honor being able to call you my future wife and wearing this ring on my finger so everyone knows I’m yours. I just wanted to know if you’d agree to wear one and let everyone know that you’re mine?” Shelby asked, pulling out the ring box.

“Shelbs… Of course I will.” Toni said with tears in her eyes.

“I uh, I got you one of those silicone rings so you could wear it during games if you wanted to.” Shelby said quietly.

Shelby pulled Toni in for a kiss and Toni’s smile was blinding when they pulled away.

“For the record, you could’ve put Sam in the hospital tonight and I would’ve been fine with it.” Shelby said with a smile.  
“Huh, I’ll keep that in mind for next time.” Toni said, matching her smile.  
“No! You’re not actually allowed. The NCAA will suspend you and we need you on the court. So do _not_ actually put her in the hospital.” Shelby said, shaking her head.

“Oh, hey, I asked a couple people to stick around after the game who wanted to meet you.” Toni said, walking her towards the tunnel.

They walked towards some very tall people before Shelby started to recognize them from the Sparks games they’d gone to.

“Shelbs, this is Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike and Seimone Agustus. They play for the Sparks.” Toni said with a smile.

“Oh wow, hi.” Shelby said, her mind racing with the fact that this was Toni’s life now.

“Well, we met the little superstar here, we figured we might as well meet her good luck charm as well.” Chiney said smiling.

“Yeah, we’ve seen you guys at a couple of games. It’s pretty hard to go out with this one and not have people notice you, I’m sure.” Seimone said, wrapping an arm around Toni.

“It’s really nice to meet you guys.” Shelby said, smiling watching Toni interact with them.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Shelby. Now, we couldn’t help but oversee, but did you give Toni a ring?” Nneka asked with a smile.

“I uh, you guys saw that, huh? I did. I even got her one of those silicone ones so she can wear it during games if she wants.” Shelby answered with a shy smile.

“Oh, you got a smart one Shaliofe! We all wear those rings when we’re playing. They’re super safe in case you end up breaking a finger, you can just cut through them with scissors and they won’t cut your circulation off as easily as a regular ring when you break a finger.” Seimone said with a smile.

They talked for a few more minutes before heading home. The girls were waiting for them at home, ready to see the ring. They all cheered when Toni and Shelby walked through the door and immediately grabbed Toni’s hand to look at the ring. Shelby couldn’t think of a better end to the day than to spend it with the family she had made away from her family.

“So, when do you two plan on releasing that sex tape you made?” Fatin asks and Shelby’s blood leaves her face and she knows Toni’s feeling the same way.

——————————————————————————————

Toni can’t move. She’s having an out-of-body experience. Of fucking course Fatin would find it.

“What uh, what are you talking about Fatin?” Shelby asked, trying to sound as casual as she could.

“You know, the sex tape you two made and thought was smart to store in the cloud. You guys must have forgotten that we all share the cloud storage though, because I was able to get my hands on it.” Fatin said with a shrug.

“What in the Shannon Beveridge and Cari Fletcher is this shit?” Leah asks.

“Oh, babe, that’s the best fucking part. They have The S(ex) Tapes playing in the background of the tape.” Fatin says with a laugh.

“They don’t…” Leah said, shaking her head in disbelief.

“They do. You know, you guys really should dub in some Disney music. That way if it ever got leaked, Disney would have it taken down and removed from the internet before anyone could ever save it.” Fatin said with a shrug.

“Why the fuck do you know that?” Rachel asks and Toni watches Leah’s face turn bright red.

“Jesus fucking Christ, I didn’t know we lived in a porn house.” Dot said with a laugh.

Toni’s head is still spinning and she starts to tune out the conversation as her mind replays the events that lead up to them actually making the tape.

——————————————————————————————

_ “Babe, please.” Shelby begged. _

_ “What if it got leaked though?” Toni asked, knowing she did NOT want to become a Kardashian story. _

_ “Toni, it won’t. We’ll store it in the cloud. It’s password-protected and no one can get into it. Okay? It’s just for when you’re gone for away games and I miss you. Please?” Shelby pouted. _

_ That fucking pout was going to win so many arguments with Toni the rest of their lives together.  _

_ “Fine, okay, we can make one.” Toni conceded. _

_ “Really?! Oh my god, I love you so much!” Shelby said as she ran around the room trying to determine what the best angle would be. _

_ Toni just sat back on the bed and watched as Shelby got everything set up to her liking. For some reason, the thought of having sex with Shelby on camera had her feeling nervous. She knew it wasn’t that different from how they normally have sex, there was just a camera. Before she could get in her head too much, Shelby was pushing her shoulder down and making her lay down on the bed. _

_ “Toni, it’s just me.” Shelby said with a soft smile. _

_ “Can- do you think we could turn some music on?” Toni softly asked. _

_ “Of course baby.” Shelby said rolling off the bed. _

_ Toni watched as she grabbed her phone and connected to the speaker in their room. She shook her head when Shelby had turned on the FLETCHER album that was called The S(ex) Tapes. Of course, she would pick an album that was titled the same thing that they were about to do. _

_ Shelby practically skipped back over to the bed and resumed her position on top of Toni. She was looking at her with a smile that made her feel safe and suddenly everything else melted away. Shelby slowly leaned down to kiss her and Toni held her face in her hands. Toni couldn’t contain her groan when she felt Shelby’s tongue sweep across her bottom lip. Toni lightly bit down on Shelby’s bottom lip and pulled a moan from Shelby’s throat. _

_ Things heated up pretty quickly between their kisses and roaming hands. Toni’s hands had gone up Shelby’s shirt pretty quickly and they were scratching down Shelby’s sides. She knew this would drive Shelby nuts and it was. Shelby’s hips were rocking into Toni. _

_ “I’m going to fuck you so hard, you’re not going to know what year it is when I’m done.” Shelby growled into her ear and Toni gulped. _

_ Shelby reached to the side of the bed and pulled up the double-ended dildo she had been saving for this moment. Toni almost rolled her eyes at it when she saw that it was bright pink because of course Shelby would get one that was that bright. After they broke the other one in what was now the accident they no longer speak of, Toni had left it to Shelby to get the replacement since she had done so well getting the first one. _

_ Toni just watched, her eyes wide as Shelby slipped her clothes off. Shelby made quick work of removing Toni’s clothes as well and Toni’s chest was heaving. Shelby started placing delicate kisses along Toni’s body, making sure to bite at every spot she knew would make Toni squirm. It was working perfectly to Shelby’s plan. Toni heard something making noise and realized that Shelby had also grabbed a vibrator. _

_ Toni’s mind explodes when she feels Shelby’s tongue on her clit. There are no thoughts moving through her brain and she can’t contain the noises she’s making. Her body was already on edge because of the sex tape idea, so everything felt more extreme than it was. She was lost in the feeling of Shelby’s tongue when all of a sudden, it was gone. Toni was confused until she felt the vibrator slide into her and turn on. Shelby’s tongue was quickly back to its previous place on Toni’s clit and after only a couple of minutes, Toni was practically screaming Shelby’s name. _

_ She knew Shelby, and she knew sex with Shelby. This was just a warmup for her body, and now things were going to kick into high gear. Toni felt the vibrator turn off and slowly pull out of her. She sat up on her elbows to watch Shelby and she quickly grabbed the dildo and got it situated.  _

_ “Lay back.” Shelby instructed. _

_ Toni did as she was told and laid down again. She felt Shelby getting herself into position, running her fingers over Toni’s thighs and causing her hips to rise with her touch. Shelby was smiling down at her with eyes that had nothing but love in them. Toni’s mind went blank when she felt Shelby slowly sliding into her, allowing her the time to adjust. When she nodded to tell Shelby she was okay, Shelby’s smile shifted to a smirk and Toni was confused. _

_ “Are you ready?” Shelby asked, close to her ear. _

_ “Mhm.” Toni practically whimpered. _

_ “I don’t think you are.” Shelby said with a small laugh. _

_ Toni was about to ask what that meant when the dildo started to vibrate. The vibrating along with Shelby thrusting in and out was making Toni’s vision blur. She’s almost positive Shelby may fuck her so hard she passes out. Shelby must be able to sense it and she slows down her movements and pins Toni’s hands above her head to help ground her to reality. _

_ Shelby had her eyes on Toni’s face, knowing she was working Toni towards another orgasm but wanting to keep her present in this reality. When Shelby picks up her pace, Toni is coming undone quickly. Shelby only slows down to bring her down from her orgasm but then is working her towards another. _

_ Toni loses count after she has five orgasms and thinks about Shelby’s earlier comment. She wasn’t lying, Toni couldn’t even tell you her own name, let alone what year it currently was. Her mind was completely silent and all she could hear was her breathing and her heart pounding. She knew she wanted to return the favor to Shelby, but Shelby was quick to tell her that she can wait until later that night or until tomorrow. Suddenly, Toni didn’t mind that they made a sex tape. _

——————————————————————————————

“You know, I’m not that surprised that Toni’s a bottom.” Fatin said, shrugging her shoulders as she laughed.

“You  _ watched _ it?!” Toni asked, her voice climbing an octave.

“Ah, she didn’t deny it.” Fatin said with a smile.

“Fuck  _ off _ Fatin. I’m deleting it right now. I swear if you have it saved on your phone.” Toni threatens.

“Please Toni, just because you got your back blown out and your brain fucked out, doesn’t mean I want to watch  _ your  _ porn.” Fatin said with a laugh.

“I fucking hate it here. I told you it would get out!” Toni complained.

“I mean, if anyone was bound to find it, Fatin is probably a safe bet to make.” Shelby defended.

“Not the point Shelbs.” Toni groaned.

  
Toni knew Fatin was never going to let her live down being a bottom. It just  _ had  _ to be Fatin. Never again would they be making a sex tape, at least not on something that connects to the internet. They were going to have to go old school if they made another one.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, we're at the end of this part. I have three more planned and I move on the 22nd, so I will be writing as much as I can before then so I can have updates for you guys for the next part! Thank you for reading and sticking around.

As the tournament progressed, Toni was on an absolute tear through every team in the NCAA that went up against them. Shelby found herself amazed every time Toni played. She had heard Coach Close tell interviewers that once you get a bit of time under your belt playing on this stage, the game slows down for you and that’s the only thing Shelby can think of that could’ve happened. Toni was absolutely embarrassing the other teams every time she stepped on the court.

There was something different in her eyes too. Shelby knew that Toni heard an analyst ask the question of if last year was just a fluke for Toni. She knew this because Toni had ranted to her about it for two hours, explaining that she had been working her ass off and it wasn’t fair to say that it was a fluke. All of which Shelby knew, she was with Toni for most of her time while she was putting the work in. Toni was determined to bring UCLA their second National Championship in a row, she made sure to tell Shelby multiple times that she wanted to do that for the school, the city, and for herself. To prove to herself that she wasn’t a fluke.

She was doing more than proving it at this point in Shelby’s eyes. She was averaging over twenty points a game. A lot of people were wondering if Toni would go back on her promise of last year and leave school early. But Shelby and Toni had already had that conversation, Shelby gave her the out if she wanted it, but Toni had insisted that she wanted to stay and finish her college career.

Toni had also gotten a lot of stress off of her shoulders yesterday when she got the phone call regarding her lawsuit. Shelby was more than happy to hear that Toni had won her countersuit. It wasn’t a lot of money, but it was enough that Dave wouldn’t be happy. Shelby was just happy that Toni would be able to put all of her focus towards figuring out how to beat UCONN for a second year in a row.

Shelby knew that Toni was convinced they would lose last year when they played them, and was shocked when they didn’t, so she could only imagine her thoughts about having to beat them again. While the girls were in Minnesota, they had planned to go see the sights, which, as it turns out, was not a lot when it was freezing cold. Fatin had refused to even think about going outside when she saw the snow on the ground. She had made the comment that she was only going out in the cold to get to the arena to watch Toni and that was it.

Shelby was in her room when she got a FaceTime from Toni and happily answered it.

“Hey baby!” Shelby answered happily.

“Hey, what’d you and the girls do today?” Toni asked, throwing her hood over her head.

“Well, it was only 54° out today and you know Fatin with any weather below 65°.” Shelby said, shaking her head.

“Of course.” Toni answered with a laugh.

“How was practice baby? How’s the finger?” Shelby asked, laying back on her bed.

“Babe, it’s been like three months, the finger is okay.” Toni answered with a laugh.

“Okay, but it’s cold out. That’s known to make formerly broken bones hurt because of the air pressure. But you didn’t answer how practice was.” Shelby said, narrowing her eyes.

“Yeah… Was kind of hoping you wouldn’t ask again. It was a shit show. Mistake after mistake and Coach was ready to kill us.” Toni said with a sigh.

“Do you think you guys will be ready for tomorrow?” Shelby asked, knowing Toni would be ready herself.

“Well I will be. And if they’re not, I’ll make them ready.” Toni said with a shrug.

“What do you have planned for the rest of the day?” Shelby asks.

“Right now? I’m headed to this really hot blonde’s room.” Toni answered with a smile.

“Oh yeah? You know I’m not afraid to throw down.” Shleby said, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m well aware of that.” Toni answered with a smirk.

“So I’ll see you in a few minutes?” Shelby asked.

“Yup, I’ll be about ten minutes. I have your room key already. Don’t ask how I got it, I just did. I want you to be naked and waiting for me in bed. I love you.” Toni said as she hung up.

Shelby felt a shiver run through her. Very rarely was she not in control when it came to sex with Toni, and when she wasn’t, it got to her that much more. Toni was hot when she took control and Shelby loved it. She quickly got rid of her clothes and got under the covers to wait for Toni. She was filled with excitement because even though she didn’t like when Toni would have a bad practice, she  _ did _ like when Toni would take her frustration out on her.

Shelby heard the door open and she felt her excitement start to rise. Toni walked in the room and dropped her bag to the floor. Shelby had to hold in a giggle at how big Toni’s jacket was on her. 

“I see you’re all tucked in.” Toni comments as she starts to slip her shirt off.

“Got a little chilly. Cold weather and all.” Shelby answered with a smile.

“Right, right. Now, when I pull the covers back, I’m going to be happy with what I find, right?” Toni asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I sure hope so.” Shelby answers with a breathy laugh.

“Shelbs, how about we go test out the hot tub?” Toni asks.

“Uh sure babe, do you uh, do you need-” Shelby was trying to find the right way to ask if Toni had planned on using a swimsuit.

“Babe, I made sure you got this room so I could fuck you in the hot tub. You underestimate my plan.” Toni answered with a laugh.

Shelby was confused as to what the plan was. She knew that as soon as Toni had found out that the championship games were going to be in Minnesota, she made a reservation for this suite to make sure that even if UCLA didn’t make it, they would have somewhere to stay. Shelby was trying to think of what the plan could be when she watched Toni take her practice shorts off and she could clearly see that Toni had put their strap-on on after she’d showered after practice. She must’ve been staring at Toni for too long because Toni cleared her throat and brought Shelby out of her thoughts.

“You good, Shelbs?” Toni asked with a smirk.

“Did you uh, new anatomy pop up recently?” Shelby asked.

“No, I just planned on fucking this blonde girl after practice and now I have even more of a reason to want to do that. So, get your ass up and get in the hot tub Shelbs. Now.” Toni demanded and Shelby had never moved faster in her life.

Shelby waited for Toni to get into the hot tub and when she did, Shelby went right for it before Toni stopped her.

  
“Babe, are you sure? I haven’t even touched you yet. I don’t want to hurt you.” Toni said, her eyes searching Shelby’s.

“Toni, trust me.” Shelby answered and Toni nodded her head.

Shelby felt Toni’s hands on her hips to help guide her over the dildo. Toni’s guiding her hips down and Shelby gasps as she feels the dildo slide into her. She’s grateful that Toni lets her breathe as she adjusts to the feeling of the dildo inside her.

Toni’s hips start to roll after a minute and Shelby’s eyes screw shut. Toni taking control was enough to turn her on but now she was sitting on Toni’s lap as she was fucking her. Shelby’s thoughts come to a screeching halt when she feels Toni’s mouth kissing down her chest. Her breathing isn’t something within her own control currently and neither are her moans when she feels Toni’s tongue slide over her nipple. Before she can regain her composure, Toni’s hips roll into her with more force as her mouth wraps around Shelby’s nipple. Shelby’s body was on auto-pilot, responding exactly as it wanted to when Toni touched her. Her hips were grinding down into Toni’s in desperation, Toni pulling her down harder every time.

Shelby can feel herself starting to lose her control. She wasn’t going to be able to hold her orgasm off for much longer and Toni can sense it immediately. 

“Cum for me Shelbs.” Toni instructed and Shelby’s control snapped.

Her hips were moving out of rhythm and Toni was slowly guiding her down from her high. Shelby lets out a shaky breath as she rests her head against Toni’s, a small smile on her face.

“You had that planned, huh?” Shelby asked.

“That? Oh, that was just the first part of my plan Shelbs. I’m  _ really _ hungry after the practice I had.” Toni says in a tone that shoots straight to Shelby’s core.

“Oh?” Shelby half asks, half states.

“What do you say, we go take a shower so I can eat?” Toni asks.

“I uh, yeah, sure, we can, I’ll just-” Shelby says, cutting herself off as she slowly gets off of Toni’s lap.

Toni got out of the hot tub behind her, not missing her opportunity to press into Shelby’s back. An action that rewarded her with a moan. Shelby was fully aware of the fact that it was going to be somewhat of a long night for her, but she welcomed it.

——————————————————————————————

Toni wasn’t supposed to, but she had spent the night in Shelby’s room. There was no way she was going to be able to get any sleep before the second biggest game of her life if she wasn’t in bed with Shelby. She’d texted her roommate to make sure she covered for her if Coach came to check in and woke up with a text that told her that she was in the clear. She smiled when she tried to get out of bed and felt Shelby’s grip tighten around her and pull her closer.

“Mmmmm five more minutes. You’re so warm.” Shelby pleaded.

“Baby, I have to get ready. We have media in half an hour, shootaround, our final film session, and then it’s game time.” Toni said with a smile.

“Ugh fine but you know the media is going to ask about me, might as well make them wait for you.” Shelby mumbled, making Toni laugh.

“That is completely fair, though Coach will be the one that’s upset about it, and today is not the day to test her.” Toni says, placing a kiss on Shelby’s head.

Shelby let her go and she started getting dressed. She made sure to kiss Shelby before she left, even though she was running late because Shelby had demanded kisses every time Toni turned around. Coach Close had informed her that she was going to be talking to the press before the rest of the team, so that they could get all of their non-related questions out of the way. Toni hated doing interviews, she just hated the attention and everyone screaming for her attention.

“So, Toni, you’ve been hanging out with some Lakers and Sparks lately. Is that your way of telling LA that you want to stay here after school?” A reporter asked and Toni laughed.

“Well, Giannis Antetokounmpo said he was going to be here today too, does that mean I’ll come to the Lynx? No, I love LA but me hanging out with them is honestly a lot of them giving me tips on how to get better with my footwork or my training.” Toni answers.

“What  _ are _ your plans for after college?” A different reporter asks and Toni clears her throat.

“You guys asked that last year. But win or lose tonight, my plan stays the same. I’m finishing my four years here before I talk about my next steps.” Toni answers quickly.

“Speaking of, how is Shelby doing?” Someone from the back asks.

“You know, Shelbs is one of my favorite topics, so I think I would remember someone speaking of her before.” Toni says, getting a laugh from everyone before she continued, “But she’s doing well. I’m sure that she and the girls are putting their face paint on as we speak.” 

“Coach Auriemma said that you were one of the most difficult players to prepare to play against. What do you have to say to that?” A man towards the front asked.

“You know, coming from a legendary coach like him, it is one of the best compliments while also being the most terrifying thing. I don’t know if you guys know this, but I turned down the chance to play for him to come to UCLA and I don’t think he’s forgiven me for it yet.” Toni answers, earning another laugh.

The rest of the day goes by fairly fast and Toni’s getting ready for them to call her name from the bench. She laughed when she first ran out and saw Shelby sitting by a bunch of NBA players, she laughed even harder when Steph Curry of all people, pointed to Shelby and gave her a thumbs up. Jobeth and the twins were also right next to Shelby, Toni could see Trevor looking over at all of the NBA players with his mouth wide open and it made her laugh. But now it was time for war. 

Toni was more than aware that this was going to be one of the hardest games she’s played. Beating a team once was hard enough, but doing it for a second time was even harder. Toni had a plan and she had someone in mind to attack. The game starts off slow, something Coach Close had expressed she  _ didn’t _ want. Everyone on both teams just seemed sluggish and Toni wasn’t sure why. She felt normal and was trying to push the tempo but it just seemed like the team was dragging their feet. Coach Close called a timeout quickly after they went up by five.

“Coach? Can I talk to them?” Toni asks, annoyed that everyone didn’t seem to be trying their best and she gets a nod from Coach Close.

“Sure Toni, maybe you can get some energy into them.” Coach Close said.

“Guys, what the fuck? This is the  _ National Championship  _ game! We are defending our title out here! This team wants revenge from last year and I’ll be damned if we don’t stop them from getting it. Do you hear me? We are not doing this shit! Get it together! Jamie’s a senior, she can’t play because she broke her foot giving  _ everything _ to this program, do you want to keep her from her second title? Or do you want to say you did everything to get it for her? I know I sure as hell will be doing everything I can. If you starters don’t feel like you can give it everything you have, I’m sure there are players on the bench that would love an opportunity. Get your shit together and let’s put our feet on their necks and push down until they don’t have any fight left.” Toni said and she could see Coach Close smiling at her as the buzzer sounded.

After Toni’s speech, the girls finally showed up to play and they were pulling away from UCONN. When halftime ended, Toni reminded the girls that UCONN was a second half team, but their players were in foul trouble, and they still needed to go after them. She also reminded them that with their lead being twenty points, UCONN may start fouling out of frustration which could be dangerous, to always take off from both feet and worry about keeping themselves safe.

Something Toni apparently just forgot to do because she went up for a layup and got hit hard, coming down awkwardly on her ankle. They were only up by fifteen and they still had two minutes left in the game, and all Toni could feel was pain. She knew she didn’t tear or break anything but it was beyond painful. If she could make her freethrow, she was staying in the game. She made sure to send Shelby a look to let her know she was okay.

Toni took a few steps trying to just stretch her ankle out but it was sprained and there was no ignoring that, she just hoped that she could get it taped and keep playing. She saw Katie get up from the bench and she knew that she was coming in for her. She made her free throws and left the game. 

“What do you think it is?” Coach Close asked.

“High ankle sprain. I should be good to go if we just tape it.” Toni said as the trainer came over.

Her ankle was taped so tightly that she couldn’t really move it the way she wanted to. It still hurt to flex the muscles in her ankle but with her out of the game for only thirty seconds, UCONN had hit two threes and dropped the lead to ten. She checks herself back into the game without asking Coach Close and decides that she’s finishing the game on the floor.

The next minute and a half went by slowly. There was so much starting and stopping and it was putting more of a strain in her ankle. They had managed to build their lead up more because of the free throws they were taking and Toni’s heart began to race. They were right there, again. Seconds away from finishing the season with another championship win. There was no way for UCONN to catch up to the lead they’d mounted now and Toni dribbled out the clock. As soon as she heard the buzzer, she tossed the ball to the ceiling in joy. All the girls ran on the floor and mobbed Toni, and she could hear the fans cheering. The first thing she did as soon as she got out of the mob was find Shelby who was waiting for her with open arms.

“You did it! Toni, you did it two years in a row! I’m so proud of you!” Shelby yelled as she kissed her.

Toni’s smile was huge, she couldn’t believe it. Two years in a row, and she finally was feeling accomplished with what she’d accomplished. She was more excited about next year and the things they could hopefully accomplish by putting together a dynasty at UCLA. She knew it could only go up from here and she couldn’t wait to see what she could get done in the next two years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If y'all want to follow me on social media, you can find me at alilutz96. I promise I'm a disaster and will probably make you feel like your life is put together.


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